The Olympia was sent on a long term exploratory mission to the Beta Quadrant in 2363. After eight years the ship headed back to the Federation. While traversing the Rutharian sector the ship investigated an exogenic energy field surrounding the fourth planet of a star system. When the Olympia scanned the barrier, it triggered a quantum reaction that sent a surge of metreonradiation that disabled the Olympia's engines. With no engines the ship's orbit decayed forcing Cusak to order the ship be abandoned.

The fate of the Olympia was not discovered until 2374 when the USS Defiant received a distress signal from Cusak. Neither party was aware that as the signal traveled through the barrier around the planet it was shifting three years into the future. So when the Defiant reached the planet to attempt the rescue they found that Cusak had been deceased for years. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")